New discovery! Scientists have found the key molecules that regulate the connections of neural circuits

Cell, a leading academic journal, published an important study in the field of neuroscience online Monday Professor Luo Liqun and Professor Alice ting from Stanford University jointly developed a novel analytical method, which can be used to study the proteome on the surface of nerve cells Using this technology, scientists have found 20 key molecules that can regulate the connections of neural circuits ▲ three corresponding authors of this study: Jiefu Li, Professor Luo Liqun and Professor Alice ting (photo source: Stanford University website / HHMI) We know that from single cell to multicellular is a great breakthrough in the history of life evolution Different single cells can form highly structured tissues and perform different physiological functions through "communication" In this process, the molecules on the cell surface play an important role Take the neuroscience that these two scientists are concerned about as an example In the brain, the wiring molecules on the surface of nerve cells determine how the neural network will be connected, while the neurotransmitter receptors and ion channels on the surface determine the activity of synapses Previously, some scientific teams have isolated surface proteome in cultured nerve cells, outlining the preliminary appearance of these proteins However, the cells cultured in vitro are different from the cells grown in vivo, which can not really reflect the actual situation This is the breakthrough brought by the two teams ▲ illustration of this study (picture source: reference [1]) The prototype of the technology comes from Professor Alice Ting's team, which has been improved and optimized by Professor Luo Liqun's team Specifically, scientists can express hrp-cd2 fusion protein on specific cells Among them, HRP is an enzyme commonly used in clinical detection, while CD2 can help these HRP locate on the outside of cell membrane Later, the researchers added a substrate that could not penetrate the cell membrane Under the catalysis of HRP, the substrate will change and "stick" to the proteins around HRP It's like a little tag If you find these tags, you can find the proteins distributed on the specific cell surface Using this technique, coupled with protein mass spectrometry, scientists analyzed the surface proteome of olfactory projection neurons in Drosophila at different stages of development Compared with adult flies, the developing flies "show a very striking difference" ▲ using this technology, scientists have found key proteins in the brain (blue) of Drosophila melanogaster that participate in the formation of olfactory neural circuit (pink) (photo source: reference [2]; Credit: Liqun Luo) From the results of the analysis, the team found 20 proteins with significantly increased levels on the developing neurons Through RNA interference method, they reduced the expression of these proteins one by one, so as to observe which plays a key role in the connection of brain neural circuit, and the analysis results are exciting - all 20 proteins are involved in the formation of olfactory neural circuit of Drosophila! You know, this is the first time that we know the role of some proteins in neurodevelopment As the scientists mentioned in their paper, this technology will greatly improve the efficiency of studying cell surface proteins In addition to neuroscience, we expect that it can also give off light and heat in other fields and promote the progress of scientific research reference material: